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Klopp laughs and says ‘It’s easy to know I like Mario Gotze’

The way this Mario Gotze transfer saga is shaping up you’d think it was the middle of the summer, but Liverpool, or anyone else – cannot officially buy the German until July 1st – three months away!

But countless stories are linking us to his services, with Bayern Munich having yet to enter contract extension negotiations with the 23-year-old. His deal runs out in 2017, and it’s for this reason, combined with the fact his career has plateaued at Bayern, that makes many believe he’ll move in the summer.

Jurgen Klopp nurtured Gotze’s talent and brought him through at Borussia Dortmund; partly why the Guardian claim he’ll pine for an Anfield switch come the end of the season.

Now when interviewed by the Daily Mail, Klopp laughed at the Gotze question, before admitting his fondness for the player.

“Another answer in general, it is easy to know I like Mario Gotze,” he began.

“It was not the best day in my life when I heard he was going to Bayern Munich. I have known him since he was 16. That is a long trip but he is still a young player. That is the only difference to all the other players around. I would never say anything about a transfer, whether we are interested or not.

“I speak about transfers when they are done and not before. We can talk two hours about Mario Gotze but it would not change a per cent whether he comes here or goes wherever.”

Klopp, as he suggests, would never openly discuss signing a player on somebody else’s books, but if these quotes don’t intimate we’re after him, nothing does.

Importantly, if we were not interested, Klopp would just say so – as he did regarding Alex Pato in January (via ESPN).

Now, it’s up to the club to make a move happen, but as of yet, Liverpool have bigger fish to fry. If we navigate our way through the Europa League quarterfinal with Dortmund we have a great chance of winning the whole thing – which will confirm Champions League football and set us up superbly for next term – with or without Gotze.